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In a small southern Mississippi town in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a group of girls were coming of age. Around the third grade, a little girl named Cynthia Doolittle moved to town and soon a tightknit group of eight girls was formed.

“All the way through high school, we did everything together — mission trips, handbells, choir,” recalls Jane Ellen Slagle.

Their best-laid plans were to stay that close forever. But, life has a way of taking its own course. They all moved away from McComb, Miss. Some attended college, one joined the Navy, they married, had children and scattered about the country.

Doolittle attended Rhodes College, met and married Kevin Clingan, settled in Franklin and had three children. And then tragedy struck. Cynthia Doolittle Clingan was diagnosed with cancer. Their precious friend with the beautiful smile and spirited personality faced the most difficult battle of her life — a battle she fought valiantly three times.

“We kept up with Cynthia’s cancer battle through Facebook and mutual friends. We were devastated at the return of her cancer this year and the aggressiveness of it,” Slagle said.

The friends desperately tried to reach Clingan’s side before her passing. Lisa Cullom drove from Maryville, Tenn., and was able to see Clingan during her last days. Slagle booked a flight from Texas, but the trip that was scheduled to be a visit with Clingan instead coincided with the day of her Celebration of Life service at Brentwood Baptist Church.

“I wanted to tell Cynthia how much I loved her and how I was so proud of the woman she had become,” Slagle said. “I did not get to see her in person but I did get to celebrate her life.”

The childhood friends were reunited and Cynthia Clingan was the reason for their reunion.

“My sister, Laurin Gordon from Jackson, Miss., Elizabeth Hutchins from Cookeville, Tenn., Lisa and I stayed and talked for hours after the funeral,” Slagle said.

While they were talking, they reminisced about Clingan’s motto throughout her cancer battle: “Think Happy Stuff.” They’d seen her wearing T-shirts with that logo and impulsively decided they wanted shirts just like Clingan’s in honor of the positivity she radiated throughout her life.

Kevin Clingan pointed the women in the direction of the Think Happy Stuff headquarters in downtown Franklin, and they piled into a van and took off.

“As we drove up to the address, we kept saying, ‘This can’t be right. This is a house, not a store!’ Laurin went to the door and that’s where we met (Think Happy Stuff founder) Christine Knapp-Fekete. We went major shopping in her ‘showroom,’ even buying for the girlfriends who were not there,” Slagle said.

“Reconnecting with these women has been a gift from God,” Cullom said. “I am currently going through a divorce and I’m also a veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Seeing Cynthia gracefully battle cancer and then hearing Christine’s story about the Think Happy Stuff philosophy has been so impactful to me.”

Cullom is now sharing the Think Happy Stuff story and products with friends in Maryville.

“Cynthia’s death was life-changing,” Slagle said. “We are group messaging each other and we commit to get together and stay in touch — really, in honor and respect for Cynthia. Her faith, family and friends were extremely important to her. She wanted others to appreciate and experience life completely — taking in everything and keeping a positive attitude through challenges. We hope to carry on the Think Happy Stuff motto to others,” Slagle said.

“Think Happy Stuff is our family’s way of giving back, paying it forward and making a difference,” said Knapp-Fekete. “Stories like Cynthia’s are the reason why we do what we do.”

Cynthia Clingan changed her world for the better. Her life has forever impacted her friends. Through the many people she touched, her spirit lives on.

Happy business

Christine Knapp-Fekete is a single mom with eight children. Think Happy Stuff, founded in Franklin in 2007, is solely family-run.

“My children help pack orders, inspect products, make tags, and work the THS booth at shows. A few of them have jobs elsewhere and their managers always rave on their work ethic,” Knapp-Fekete said. “The kids understand that we have been given much in our times of need. The church, family, friends and even strangers have come together to support us in so many ways. That is why we do what we do.”

The font of the logo is Knapp-Fekete’s handwriting. The flower is a doodle that her grandmother taught her mother, who in turn taught her. Knapp-Fekete’s son A.J. suggested the addition of the smiley face to the flower for Think Happy Stuff.